The Virgin
by alwaysslowburning
Summary: Bella Swan can often be found swigging a beer and snapping photographs of her diverse collection of hookups. Edward Cullen spends his evenings reading blogs and taking photographs of his neighbors dogs for quick cash. She is obnoxious; he is slow to speak. The pair would not have come together if not for a photography project that pushes both of their boundaries and binds them.


Chapter One

**Bella**

"Oh, fuck you!" Bella Swan says. She forces her hands into her thick hair and stares at Emmett in disbelief. Two seconds ago she was beating his ass, and suddenly he's tossing down the right cards and stealing the game. Bella's burly friend chuckles and pulls the prize – a few bucks and an IOU – into his arms.

He glances up at her with a smirk. "Don't be jealous, Bella. One day you'll understand the master," he says. He groans and stretches his arms upward. She eyes the muscles that band his freckled arms and grins.

"So you think you're the master, eh?" she says. Bella flutters her eyelashes, and Emmett leans toward her. His blue eyes are so close she feels like her own brown ones are crossing, so to remedy the problem she closes her eyes and pulls his face to hers. Emmett's full lips are warm, and his tongue tastes like beer as it slides across her bottom lip.

"Mm," he mumbles into her mouth, and Bella smiles against his lips. He presses his hand firmly against her neck, and she laughs and pulls away. "When are you gonna be my girl, Bella?" Emmett says.

"You know I'll never be your girl, babe. I'm a free bird," Bella says. She pulls her curls away from her face and tucks them into a bun on the top of her head. Her sunburnt cheeks give her pale skin a glow, and Emmett stares at her with a small smile on his lips.

"That you are," says Emmett. He stands and grabs two beers from his mini fridge. Instead of sitting back at the rickety table across from Bella, he plops onto his bed. Bella holds out a hand, and he tosses her a beer. "Besides, I'm still trying to get with Angela," he says, and Bella snorts.

"She's so not your type, not at all," she says, and he shrugs.

"She's a lot like my sister, actually. A bit disturbing, I'm sure, but it's comforting," Emmett says, and Bella nods, thinking of Tanya, his older sister. She can't help the flinch that hits her as she imagines Tanya's face, once so beautiful, staring blankly up at her in her casket. The whole funeral, Bella kept wondering why no one would close her eyes. Had they forgotten? Did they really think Tanya would prefer to spend all of eternity with eyes open?

"I suppose you're right. Gorgeous and bookish, yeah?" Bella says.

Emmett nods and leans back against his bed, and Bella watches his stomach rise and fall as he breathes.

"What ever happened with Alice?" Bella recalls a pixie-like African girl who was badly in love with Emmett their sophomore year.

"She was… perfect, actually. It was her brother who got to me. The little twerp hated my guts." Emmett says. "Funny, though. I think he's actually a year ahead of us. A senior, yeah. Pretty much a loser, though."

"Jesus, is it really three in the morning? I have my eight o'clock tomorrow. Dammit." She pulls on a pair of worn cowboy boots and an oversized tan jacket lined with plaid. It's her dad's jacket. She'll have to give it to him when she heads home for winter break.

"Need me to walk you out?" Emmett says, and Bella shakes her head.

"I think I can handle the four feet it takes to reach your door, thanks." Bella grins, mocking the size of his dorm room compared to hers. The boys at her school always got screwed with housing.

"See you for lunch. Yuppies, right?" Emmett asks, and Bella nods.

"Yep. Get ready for sushi and pizza," she says, and closes the door behind her.

The snow crunches beneath Bella's boots as she walks. She waves to a couple classmates building a pretty shitty snowman and heads up the staircase to her room. Her roommate, Rosalie, sits on the rainbow rug with her legs crossed and her hands resting on her thighs in meditation. Bella skirts around her, careful not to step on the tips of her long blond hair, and kicks off her boots into her nearly empty closet. Bella's never been much of a fashion-oriented person, which is obvious from its contents – a few pairs of skinny jeans, a couple oversized button downs, and loads of random t-shirts she got from the neighbor boys before she came to college. Emmett jokes that she's a hipster, but in reality Bella just hasn't got much money. Lucky for her the starving-artist look came into style.

By the time Bella has brushed her teeth and washed her face, Rosalie is crawling into bed beside her. In the darkness of the room, Rosalie looks like an angel, and it makes Bella laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Rosalie snaps, and Bella grins.

"Oh, nothing. You just look pretty innocent with the shadows behind you," she says, her voice low. She fingers her roommates blond hair. "Your pretty hair all aglow," Bella sings, and Rosalie pushes her.

"Ha, ha. Don't mock me, slut," Rosalie says, and Bella bites her lip.

"Rose, not all of us have reclaimed the word, you know. I still find it kind of offensive," Bella says quietly, and Rosalie places a hand on her chin.

"I'm sorry. You know I don't think you're a slut. I forget… sometimes." Rosalie hugs her, and Bella shrugs.

"It's, um, fine." She does everything she can not to think of high school and its torment.

"I am sorry. Good night, Bella." She slips out of Bella's bed and heads across the room, where she flops into her own bed, covered in clothes and school books.

"Night, Rose," Bella calls to her, before rolling over and quickly falling into a fitful sleep.

**Edward**

"Dammit, Fluffy, come on," Edward whispers, pulling the dog's paws forward. She's been refusing to lay down all evening. It's almost nine o'clock, and he's going to miss his show if she keeps this up. "Come on, lay down," he says, and the toy poodle finally gives in and slides forward. Her white fur is now covered in dirt, and he sighs as he brushes it off, ignoring her growls. With the dog in position, Edward snaps several pictures from different angles. After about fifteen he is satisfied, and he snaps Fluffy's leash back on. The duo walks back down the street, and Edward exchanges Fluffy for twenty-five dollars.

"Thank you, Edward," says the elderly black woman, and he nods.

"No problem. I'll bring the photographs by tomorrow." He heads back to his house, turning the corner and walking up a brick pathway.

"Well you look like you're ready for an evening of fun," a voice says, and Edward jumps. He turns around to see Alice grinning up at him.

"Don't I know it," Edward says, and Alice laughs. No one had ever been able to figure out their relationship to each other. Alice's parents, Esme and Carlisle, had adopted Edward from a neighbor when he was just a toddler. With their black skin and curly hair, no one understood how Edward, with his almost translucent skin and bright green eyes, could be connected to the family. Still, Edward couldn't think of anyone he was closer to than his older sister.

"I'm heading out with some friends," Alice says, smoothing down her bodycon dress as if it were capable of movement. "You're welcome to come, you know."

Just the thought of it was enough to make Edward feel nauseous. Did his sister really think he would any good at a_ club_? "I'll stay in."

"Surprise, surprise," she says. "Come here." Alice throws her arms around Edward, and he smoothes a hand over her head, recently shaven. She pulls back, and Edward tries not to feel jealousy. Most girls would have struggled to pull off a shaved head and a nose ring, especially ones as feminine as Alice, and yet she does it with ease, he thinks bitterly.

Alice walks backward to her car, waving her arms as if a dancing butterfly, and with a wink she plops into her car and drives off, leaving Edward to a rousing evening of blog-searching and developing photographs.

End Notes:

So there you have it, chapter one. I know you only got a taste of Edward, but come on – since when is that something to complain about? I promise – there'll be more than enough of him soon, especially once our darling duo finally meet. Thanks for reading!


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